Toronto-based KPMB Architects has built a riverside art museum in Saskatoon, which is designed in response to the flat plains that surround the Canadian city.

The 126,000-square-foot (approximately 11,705 square metres) Remai Modern opened to the public last month.
It provides a new home for over 7,500 art works from the collection of the Mendel Art Gallery ? a major cultural centre in the city that closed in 2015.

"The architecture of the Remai Modern simultaneously looks back and forward," said KPMB Architects.
"It forges a strong relationship to the legacy of the Mendel and creates a platform to reinforce the role of art for the 'advancement of Saskatoon as a creative city dedicated to lifelong learning'."

Saskatoon is the largest city in the prairie province of Saskatchewan. Remai Modern is located on a prominent site in the heart of the city, adjoining the existing Persephone Theatre, and facing the South Saskatchewan River to the south. KPMB Architects designed the four-storey museum to respond to the "low, flat topography of Saskatchewan's prairie landscape". Working with architect of record Architecture49, the team created a form made up of stacked and cantilevered volumes.

Perforated metal clad some sections of the glazed exterior. Red in colour, this mesh diffuses light into the glazed galleries while maintaining views out.
In other areas the glass is left exposed, to allow more light to penetrate the interiors.

The buildi...